Following last week’s reassurances from the Ministry of Education that the implementation of the “Education” program was still in its experimental phase until issues were resolved, the Ministry has initiated an extensive review process for the post-secondary certificates of its employees dating back to the year 2000. This move has raised concerns among both Kuwaitis and expats in the education sector.

Sources have revealed to Al-Seyassah that the Ministry of Education is currently compiling a list of all its employees, estimated to be around 140,000 individuals across various fields. Employees have been instructed to submit scanned copies of their academic qualifications and transcripts certified by the relevant authorities in the country of issuance for equivalence verification by the Ministry of Higher Education.

The Ministry has already commenced the verification process, collecting data such as employee names, civil ID numbers, workplaces, areas of specialization, university degrees, graduation years, and more through integrated systems. This action comes in response to a request from the Civil Service Commission for all ministries and government entities to provide comprehensive data for scrutiny of post-high school educational certificates to combat forgery. Forgery of certificates is considered a felony under the law, punishable by imprisonment for at least five years, hefty fines, and publication of the forged certificate holder’s name, with repercussions lasting up to 10 years on their criminal record, rendering them ineligible for employment.

In a separate educational development, the Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, Anwar Al-Hamdan, issued rotation decisions affecting several departments and educational regions. These decisions include reassigning individuals to various administrative roles within the ministry, aimed at optimizing organizational efficiency and resource management